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#Law Enforcement

59 entries

Branches (6)
Federal Public Defenders
The system that provides lawyers to people charged with federal crimes who cannot afford one
Office of National Drug Control Policy
The White House office, led by the so-called drug czar, that sets national drug policy and coordinates the federal drug-control budget
The Capitol Complex
The Capitol building and the office buildings, tunnels, grounds, and support facilities around it where Congress works
U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services
The officers of the federal courts who investigate defendants, write sentencing reports, and supervise people released into the community
U.S. Sentencing Commission
The independent agency in the judicial branch that writes the federal sentencing guidelines
United States Capitol Police
The federal police force that protects Congress, its members, and the Capitol complex
Departments (27)
Antitrust Division
The Justice Department division that enforces the antitrust laws against monopolies, cartels, and anticompetitive mergers
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Justice Department agency that enforces federal gun, explosives, and arson laws and licenses firearms dealers
Bureau of Diplomatic Security
The State Department's law enforcement and security arm, protecting diplomats, embassies, and visiting foreign dignitaries
Civil Rights Division Reorganizing
The Justice Department division that enforces federal civil rights laws on voting, discrimination, policing, and disability access
Community Relations Service Reorganizing
The Justice Department's mediation office for community conflicts over race, ethnicity, religion, and hate crimes
Criminal Division
The Justice Department division that develops federal criminal enforcement policy and prosecutes complex national and international crimes
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Justice Department agency that enforces federal drug laws at home and against trafficking networks abroad
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Justice Department agency that runs the federal prison system
Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers
The DHS agency that trains officers and agents for more than a hundred federal law enforcement organizations
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
The Treasury bureau that collects and analyzes financial data to fight money laundering, terrorist financing, and fraud
HHS Office for Civil Rights
The HHS office that enforces civil rights in health care and the HIPAA privacy and security rules
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Labor Department agency that inspects every mine in the country and enforces mine safety and health standards
National Security Division
The Justice Department division that handles terrorism, espionage, and intelligence surveillance cases
Office for Civil Rights (Education) Reorganizing
The Education Department office that enforces civil rights laws in schools and colleges, including Title VI and Title IX
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
The HUD office that enforces the Fair Housing Act against discrimination in renting, buying, and lending
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Reorganizing
The Labor Department office that enforces nondiscrimination requirements for companies holding federal contracts
The Department of Justice
The federal government's lawyer and police force: the FBI, DEA, Marshals, prisons, U.S. Attorneys, and the Attorney General
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
The principal federal investigative agency: 38,000 employees, 55 field offices, and a director with a ten-year term
The Internal Revenue Service Reorganizing
The tax collector: five trillion dollars a year, 160 million returns, and the most contact most Americans have with Washington
The U.S. Attorneys
The ninety-three chief federal prosecutors, one for nearly every judicial district, who bring the government's cases
The United States Coast Guard
A military service, a law enforcement agency, and a maritime regulator at once, housed in Homeland Security
The United States Secret Service
Protector of the President and investigator of financial crimes, founded to fight counterfeit money
U.S. Border Patrol
The federal law enforcement agency that patrols the land borders and coasts between official ports of entry
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The largest federal law enforcement agency: the Border Patrol, 328 ports of entry, and the collection of tariffs and duties
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The interior enforcement agency: immigration arrests, detention, and deportation, plus criminal investigations through HSI
U.S. Marshals Service
The nation's oldest federal law enforcement agency, which protects judges, hunts fugitives, and runs witness protection
Wage and Hour Division
The Labor Department agency that enforces the federal minimum wage, overtime, child labor, and family leave laws
Agencies (4)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The independent commission that enforces federal laws against job discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability
Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR)
The government corporation within the Bureau of Prisons that employs incarcerated people to make goods and provide services, mostly for federal agencies
Immigration and Naturalization Service Dissolved
The federal agency that admitted immigrants, patrolled the borders, deported noncitizens, and naturalized new citizens until its functions were split up in 2003
U.S. Customs Service Merged
The Treasury agency that collected tariffs on imports from 1789, long the federal government's main source of revenue, until it was merged into Homeland Security in 2003
Offices & Roles (7)
Attorney General of the United States
The nation's chief law enforcement officer and the head of the Justice Department
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
The head of the FBI, appointed to a single 10-year term so that the nation's chief federal investigator would serve across administrations
District Judges
The Article III trial judges of the 94 federal district courts, appointed for life, who preside over federal trials and issue most of the rulings that block or allow government actions
House and Senate Sergeants at Arms
The chief law enforcement and protocol officers of each chamber of Congress, who keep order, oversee security, and can compel absent members to attend
Magistrate Judges
The federal judges appointed by district courts to renewable eight-year terms who handle warrants, initial appearances, pretrial matters, misdemeanors, and civil trials with the parties' consent
Marshal of the Supreme Court
The Court-appointed officer who opens each session, keeps time at oral argument, runs the Supreme Court building, and directs the Supreme Court Police that protect the Justices
Solicitor General of the United States
The Justice Department official who represents the federal government before the Supreme Court and decides which cases the government appeals
Processes (3)
Posse Comitatus and Domestic Deployment
The 1878 law barring federal troops from civilian law enforcement, its exceptions, the National Guard's role, and the 2025 deployments to American cities
Presidential Pardons
The President's nearly unlimited power to forgive federal crimes, and the controversies it has produced
The Insurrection Act
The 1807 law that lets the President deploy the military inside the United States to suppress insurrection, domestic violence, or obstruction of federal law, the main exception to the Posse Comitatus Act
Documents & Cases (10)
Ethics in Government Act of 1978
The post-Watergate law that requires financial disclosure by senior officials, created the Office of Government Ethics, tightened post-employment rules, and established the independent counsel
Morrison v. Olson (1988)
The case that upheld the independent counsel law over Justice Antonin Scalia's famous lone dissent
Printz v. United States (1997)
The case holding that Congress cannot order state and local officers to carry out federal programs, the core of the anti-commandeering doctrine
The Eighteenth Amendment Dissolved
The 1919 amendment that established national Prohibition of alcoholic beverages, the only amendment ever repealed
The Eighth Amendment
The 1791 amendment prohibiting excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments
The Fifth Amendment
The 1791 amendment guaranteeing grand juries, protection against double jeopardy and self-incrimination, due process, and just compensation for taken property
The Fourth Amendment
The 1791 amendment protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures and requiring warrants based on probable cause
The Second Amendment
The 1791 amendment protecting the right of the people to keep and bear arms, linked in its text to a well regulated militia
The Sixth Amendment
The 1791 amendment guaranteeing criminal defendants a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, the right to confront witnesses, and the assistance of counsel
The Thirteenth Amendment
The 1865 amendment abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, except as punishment for a crime
States & Local (2)
Sheriffs and Local Police
The roughly 18,000 local law enforcement agencies, from elected county sheriffs to city police departments, that carry out most American policing
State Attorneys General
The chief legal officers of the states, who defend state laws, protect consumers, and increasingly sue the federal government and major industries together
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